On Sunday it was my pleasure to attend two concerts of youngsters performing on the piano and violin. I am so impressed with the goodwill that children show (by and large…) while grappling with all the complicated tasks set them by their respective responsible adults. We expect so much of them and yet they so often […]
My thoughts this week have taken a sombre turn. On Thursday the Laudantes Consort began rehearsals for Pierre Bartholomée’s Requiem. Pierre Bartholomée is one of Belgium’s most well-respected contemporary composers. His Requiem was commissioned by Guy Janssens to be the final work in a series of ‘Requiems through the Ages’. Bartholomée’s Requiem was inspired by […]
Yesterday I gathered my courage together and joined in my first ever organized running event : the 15 kilometer Foulées des Flosses round the Forêt de Soignes. The weather was picture postcard perfection. As I ran I thought of the parallels with singing : First, the nerves just before you begin as you wait for […]
Last weekend I abandoned the family for a quick jaunt to Paris. After singing in a concert of Palestrina Lamentations on the Saturday night I had a free day in Paris (I was unfettered and alive, for any Joni Mitchell fans). By bizarre serendipity my friend and colleague Jos Somsen was also singing in Paris […]
